Hood River for Marissa's Birthday

 

Two weekends ago I drove back to Hood River to celebrate Marissa's birthday. I missed it last year because I was studying for the bar/living at the law library/generally hating my life, and I promised her then that I would be there to celebrate this year.

I drove down on Saturday morning, which, by the way, is far less traffic-y than driving down on a Friday night. I would highly recommend it. When I got into town it was absolutely beautiful outside, so I decided to play third wheel and I tagged along with Josh and Sarah (and Kiva and Lala) on a min-adventure to Mosier to visit Josh's dad.

 Sarah and I in Mosier

 

 LaLa and I (OMG I made friends with a dog!)

 

After Mosier, the three of us headed back into Hood River, blasting some old school Nelly #sogood. We grabbed a quick bite to eat from Colby at Hajukin Cuisine (also #sogood) then headed to Dog River for a little birthday prefunk with the crew.

 

From back left: Tonya, Caroline, Marissa, Rachel, Florian, Phoebe, Josh S, Me, Sarah, Tall Paul and Dave (front and center)



 

Marissa wearing my birthday gift to her: JORTERALLS! I'm sort of obsessed and want some for myself now. #OOTD

 

The rest of the nigh included drinks at the pub, a dance party at Jack's (my favorite) where I successfully requested both "Hot in Here" (because I just couldn't get enough) and "Blurred Lines" and got to share a scorpion bowl with my friends.  

 

Caroline, Abby, Huggie, Beth and Florian sharing some Scorpion bowl at Jack's 

 

Then, to top it all off, after the bars closed, Huggie convinced a cab driver to take a van full of us through the Taco Bell Drive through, after which we devoured $36 worth of cheap tacos around the TREW house coffee table before Beth and I walked back to her place to sleep for a  few hours.

 

The next day a few of us did breakfast then Beth and I decided to go into Portland for a few hours of walking around NW 23rd St, shopping and some really delicious mac and cheese before I drove back to Seattle. 

 

It was a really quick, super fun Hood River trip and I can't wait to go back for the 4th of July!

MDW2013 in Hood River

I spent Memorial Day Weekend (#MDW2013) in Hood River and I had such a wonderful time.

 

Friday night after I got into town we went to the opening of our friends' new restaurant, Hakujin Cuisine. It's seriously delicious street food style Asian fusion deliciousness. I ended up eating it the next day too. Couldn't get enough of those fun buns! I spent the rest of the night hanging out downtown and catching up with friends.

 

The next morning (read: early afternoon) Beth and I grabbed breakfast at Pine St. Bakery. I had a delicious biscuit sandwich and made sure to re-hydrate with some coconut water which made me feel on top of the world.

 



 

After breakfast we went downtown Hood River to get iced coffee from Marissa at Dog River. We also shopped a little and I ended up with some new Citizens, a cute dress and some lip gloss from Plenty (whoops!).

 

While we were at Plenty, Marissa text Beth asking us to bring her chapstick at her second job of the day, Double Mountain (AKA my favorite place in the whole world). We obviously had to stay for an afternoon beer after dropping the chapstick. They had one of my seasonal favorites on tap, the Clusterf#ck and I was super excited to relax and chat with Beth over a beer. 

 



 

After Double Mountain we went back to Beth's house then walked to Rite Aid, and while we were there we decided to pick up a case of cider. #bitcheslovecider #whoarethosebitcheswiththatcider

 



 

And take it down the street to our friends' house/very fancy beach to share over some snap-chats (do you guys use snapchat?). First it was 4 of us then more people kept stopping by. That is one of the many reasons I love Hood River, you can sit in someone's yard, drink cider, and double the size of your group in no time. It was super relaxing and awesome.

 



 

When the cider was gone we walked back to Beth's to put on our PARTY SHIRTS!

 

(I stole the above and below party shirt pics from Beth's Instagram)

 

We then swooped up Marissa and grabbed some Mexican food for dinner. We took this little GEM in the bathroom after. #badbitches

 

After dinner we went out to the bars, mingled, saw some more of my favorite people, went to Jack's where I had an epic dance party, then walked home at 2am and woke up snuggling with a pug. It was so SO much fun.

(This one is from Greg's Instagram)

 

Sunday I had two delicious breakfasts, went to see the Hangover part 3 with my cousins (not quite as good as the first, better than the second, and I LOLd a lot), met up with Josh and Sarah AND got to hang with my friend Adam from law school. He was just passing through Hood River for the night so he went to dinner at Double Mountain with Josh, Sarah and I and then we took him to the Trillium to hang out a bit before we all called it an early night. I love showing people Hood River.

 

 

Monday I went to my parents' house to see my Fluffy cat and go through some of my old things (so many awesome pictures now in my possession).

It was a totally exhausting weekend but also a total blast. I'm ready for the weekend to be here again so I can relax and hopefully recover a little bit.

See ya in two weeks, Hood River!!

 

 



a Thursday jam

 

Have you guys heard this song by Robin Thicke yet? It's quite the little jam. I also really like the plastic outfits in the video. I wonder if I could pull that off? 

 

#sogood #onrepeat

 

I hope you're all having a happy day.

 

xxoo 

Katie and Josh's Wednesday Wedding

Yesterday I got off of work at 2, picked up Katie, took her to get her bridal bouquet, took her to my house and we got ready for her wedding. You guys, yesterday Katie got married!

After Katie's mom met us at my apartment and we had fixed our hair and makeup, and had a few sips of pink champagne, we drove to the courthouse downtown Seattle.

The only time Katie freaked out all day was when we were sitting in terrible i5 rush hour traffic on the way to the courthouse. Josh called her and said that they were waiting, and ohmygoshwhyarentyouhereyet?! And there was a moment of "I'm not going to make it to my own wedding" panic, but otherwise things were happy and totally smooth.

When we finally got downtown I dropped Katie and her mom off, found a really lucky parking spot on the street, sprinted up a hill in my dress and heels in the pouring Seattle rain while being laughed at by a parking attendant, and made it in time for a few pre-wedding pictures.

the wedding party: me, Katie, Josh and the best man, Will 

Katie and Josh right before they said "I do"

 



After waiting a few minutes the judge took us up to the top floor of the courthouse where there was an incredible view. She performed a short, sweet ceremony and it was perfect.

After everything was done at the courthouse we headed to Staple and Fancy for and incredible multi-course dinner.

The dinner was a special chef's menu served family style. We started dinner with bread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar while we sipped on delicious drinks. The first real course was a ton of appetizers which were all interesting and totally delicious (think: white fish crostini, chilled asparagus and ramp soup, house made ricotta with peas, etc.). We then had a pasta course which consisted of a clam pasta and a chicken ravioli. The third course was the most amazing pork any of us had ever tasted and not-at-all-fishy bass. Before we left we enjoyed wedding cake, which was topped with Katie's grandmother's cake topper from her 25th wedding anniversary. It was just all so fun, low-stress, and perfect.

I'm so happy for Katie and Josh (my new best-friend-in-law ha). Hooray!!

P.S. This might sound totally weird but Wednesday weddings are awesome, and it somehow seemed extra special. I also loved that there were only a few of us there so we all got to really enjoy each other's company. Katie and Josh decided they wanted to "elope" a few months ago, after they started planning a bigger wedding and decided it was too much stress. They chose yesterday (Wednesday, May 15th) because it's their two year dating anniversary and they're heading to Ecuador this weekend, so that trip can act as a honeymoon until Katie's grad school schedule calms down a bit.

My Story in 250 Words

Today I thought it would be fun to do a little blogger link-up for the blog every day in May challenge (I can always use a topic prompt). Today's prompt was "the story of your life in 250 words or less." Mine ends a little abruptly, but is exactly 250 words. Enjoy! 

 

I was born in Hood River, Oregon and grew up on the other side of the Columbia River in White Salmon, Washington, which is a tiny town of just about 2,000 people. I grew up on the same ranch, in the same house my dad was born and raised in. Although I grew up in White Salmon, at this point in my life I identify more with Hood River, which is my favorite place in the whole world (especially in the summer). I’ve lived in Seattle for 7 ½ years now, the University of Washington brought me here, and law school at Seattle University kept me, but Hood River is where I feel this inherent need to be as much as possible.

I work at Microsoft in their legal department where a large part of my job is editing contracts. I love it. When I was in college my dream job was editing (editor at somewhere like Vogue, maybe?). Then I went to law school and I thought that dream died. But now, I get to combine the dream with my legal training and it makes my heart happy. And, the fact that I get to wear whatever I want to work doesn’t hurt either. I love clothes and I like the idea of expressing yourself through what you wear. I also really like spending time with my friends. I know everyone says this but my friends might just be the best friends ever, and I’m so thankful for them.

THE END!

Happy Wednesday, Friends!

MEOW

I’m about to head over to Lisa and Natalie’s for a fun evening with the NBAC (+Danielle). I’m not quite sure what’s on the agenda for the night beyond dinner at their new apartment. Either way, I’m excited to see my favorite law school ladies.

OOTD, or you know, in normal person language: what I’m wearing (mostly because I’m really excited about my newest cat shirt, meow):

Denim Vest (Forever 21) | MEOW shirt (Nordstrom) | Jeans (Paige) | Two Finger Ring (Forever 21)

And because I KNOW you’re dying to see a closer shot of my ah-mazing MEOW shirt…

 
Now I’m off to debate whether or not to put on lipstick and hurry out the door.

I hope you all have a fantastic Saturday night! xo

Whistler and Other Goodness

Last weekend Dustin and I went to Whistler, BC, with our friends Art and Amy. It's a little over a 4 hour drive from Seattle (maybe more depending on the line at the border and traffic), so we left directly from work on Friday afternoon.

When we got to Whistler, it was snowing!! (Side note: this was particularly exciting because it has not snowed at all in Seattle this winter). When we got there we were all hungry and excited about the snow, so we quickly went to our rooms to drop off our things then met back up to grab some dinner. We were staying right in Whistler Village, so it was super convenient to be in the middle of all the awesome shops and restaurants.

Dustin and I outside our Hotel right when we got to Whistler - it's SNOWING! 

After dinner we grabbed a few drinks at one of the nearby bars. I was being a total baby and was super tired around 11pm so we called it a early night and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning everything was BEAUTIFUL. It was sunny with a little fresh snow covering everything; we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Dustin and I grabbed coffee in the village before meeting up with Art and Amy at the Scandinave Spa.

Me in the village

The Scandanive Spa was amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Whistler. It might have been the most beautiful place I've ever visited. We took advantage of the baths while we were there, which none of us had done before. The outdoor area is completely silent and you go from a warm bath, a sauna or a steam room (where you sit for 15 minutes), into an icy cold bath or shower (for 15 seconds), then you go relax by the outdoor fireplace or in a solarium which looked out into the beautiful, snowy surrounding mountains, before repeating.

At first being totally silent and disconnected (no cell phone, what?!) was really difficult, but after the first round of hot, cold, relax, I felt peaceful and relaxed. It was an amazing experience.

source

(because there were no pictures allowed -- just imagine lots of snow on the mountains and a light dusting on all of the trees around the pools, swoon)

 

After the spa we were all ready for lunch. We grabbed Flat Stanley (side note: my co-worker's nephew sent her Flat Stanley for a school project where she was supposed to color Flat Stanley and take him places and take pictures with him. She took a few pictures with Stanley, but was running out of ideas, so, we printed out 3 more Flat Stanleys for my co-workers and I to take to our various weekend destinations with us. I made my flat Stanley a ginger (with a moustache), put him in a Canadian tuxedo and a beret and took him to Canada with me) from the hotel and headed to Earl's where we had lunch and a round of drinks.

 

Dustin was a little jealous of our love...

 

After lunch we walked around the village for a while before stopping for more drinks with Flat Stanley (don't worry, we also took Flat Stanley to places like the Olympic circles, the gondola, etc. for some 1st grade appropriate pictures). We MAY have had a little too much posing with Flat Stanley...

 

Apparently Flat Stanley and I BOTH like beergaritas, who knew?

 

That night Dustin and I went to a free Nas concert (part of the World Ski and Snowboard Festival) where I re-lived some of my favorite high school jams. We were really far away and it was pretty cold out, so we didn't stay for the whole thing, but I mean, who needs Coachella when you can go to a free rap concert in the snow in Whistler? (just kidding, totes jealous of all the kids at Coachella).

 

 

The next day we had a lazy morning, we walked around and found crepes to eat for breakfast, I got a coffee, then we hit the road to head back to America.

 

Amy, Art and Dustin in Whistler

 

It was a pretty awesome weekend.

 

I haven't been feeling too great since I got back, though. I think I have some severe allergies going on (runny, faucet nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, cough, sinus pressure, tired, you know, the works). Despite that, though, my week has been super happy. My friends Lisa and Natalie moved into a gorgeous apartment just a few blocks away from me and I couldn't be happier. I love the idea of being able to pop over, even if for just a few minute, all the time. Also, my friend Beth was in town for a few days this week (Yay! the only thing that could have made me happier than having Beth in town would be if Marissa could have joined as well)!

 

 

The first night she was in town, we went to dinner at the Latona pub with Beth's friends from Boise, and then went to see the Gaslight Anthem play a show at the Neptune. The other night we had low key a girls night complete with lots of episodes from the first season of Girls, a bottle of wine, painting our nails and eating ice cream. It was perfect. 

 

And now, I'm looking forward to spending the weekend in Seattle, hanging out with some of my favorite people and trying to feel completely normal (and not stuffy) again.

 

Happy Friday, friends!